NFL: Marquice Cole’s special skills often overlooked by Patriots fans

Sunday

Nov 11, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Rich Garven NFL

Retaining Wes Welker, signing Brandon Lloyd and drafting Chandler Jones were all high-profile offseason moves by the Patriots. The addition of Marquice Cole hardly registered with New Englanders by comparison.

But the signing of the veteran free agent to a one-year deal for a modest $650,000 was a prime example of the importance that the Patriots place on that overlooked element of the game, special teams, and how they’re willing to devote roster spots to players whose position should really be listed as ST.

Players like Matthew Slater, Tracy White, Niko Koutouvides and Cole.

“I believe it’s huge every time I can go on the field and help out,” Cole said last week. “Being able to contribute on special teams is a big thing. It’s a big part of the game, so I’m just glad I can do that.”

Cole has been a staple on the punt-return, punt-coverage and kick-return units. The Patriots rank 12th in the league in punt coverage, are tied for eighth in punt returns (12.2 average), and tied for 16th in kickoff returns (23.6).

Cole is tied for third on the team with four special-teams tackles.

Cole went undrafted after a standout career at Northwestern before being signed by the Raiders as a rookie free agent in 2007. He was cut a few months later, leading to unsuccessful stints with the Titans and Saints.

Cole then went through a sign-waive-sign sequence with the Jets, who ultimately elevated him from the practice squad to the varsity in 2009. Cole spent three seasons in New York, appearing in 37 games and making one start while doing his best work on special teams.

The Patriots came calling in March and Cole answered. The journeyman has settled right in.

“It’s a new team, so you have to adapt,” he said. “Everything is fine here. I love the players here. My teammates are my friends now. I’m just having a lot of fun out here, getting used to the new system. So everything is going pretty well.”

Although he was asked how difficult it was personally to adapt to a new organization, his response should put at ease Patriot fans who are wondering how quickly newly acquired cornerback Aqib Talib will be able to adjust once he joins the team tomorrow.

“I don’t think it’s that hard, especially at the level we’re at,” said Cole, who turns 29 on Tuesday. “We’re all supposed to be professionals, so it comes with the territory. Everybody just goes with the flow and adjusts on the run.”

Cole has appeared in every game this season, but he has seen little time at his official position of cornerback. According to espnboston.com, he has played 41 of a possible 542 defensive snaps (7.6 percent). Twenty of them were in the blowout win over the Rams in London.

Despite having little professional experience on defense, Cole still takes great pride in the position.

“I always see myself as a defensive back and wherever I can get plugged in at, I’ll go in there and do my best,” he said. “If they want me to play receiver, I’ll do that as well.”

The Patriots always have been big supporters of the real patriots — those who are serving or have served in the military. But they’ve outdone themselves this time.

On Friday, they unveiled a black seat in the south end zone in Gillette Stadium that will remain permanently unoccupied. It’s dedicated to the nearly 92,000 Americans who are unaccounted for as prisoners of war or missing in action since World War I.

The Patriots are the first major league sports franchise in the country to do this.

Footage from the ceremony will be shown during today’s game, which will include numerous activities in honor of Veterans Day, including a pregame flyover.

In addition, veterans and active military members can visit The Hall at Patriot Place for free today and tomorrow. It’s open from 4 to 7 p.m. today, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow.

Peyton Manning, who has thrown three touchdown passes in five straight games, needs two to overtake Dan Marino (420) for second place in league history. Brett Favre is first with 508. Manning’s fourth-quarter comeback last week was the 48th of his career. That’s one more than Marino and the most in the league since 1970. … Drew Brees has faced the Falcons 12 times since joining the Saints in 2006. He has thrown two-plus touchdowns in 10 of those games and passed for 300-plus yards in eight of them. Most importantly, he has gone 10-2. As for the Falcons, they’re the 15th team since the introduction of the 16-game schedule in 1978 to start 8-0. … Sebastian Janikowski of the Raiders has kicked 32 field goals of 50-plus yards in 13 seasons. To put that in perspective, Adam Vinatieri (15) and Stephen Gostkowski (five) have combined for 20 in 24 seasons.

Some quick hits and (hopefully) useful numbers with regard to this week’s games: The Ravens have won 14 consecutive regular-season games at home. That’s the longest active streak in the league. They’re also 4-0 all-time versus the Raiders. … The Vikings had won 13 straight against the Lions in Minnesota before losing, 26-23, in overtime last year. … The Buccaneers have scored 28-plus points in a team-record four straight games as they host the Chargers, who have put up 24-plus points in four of the past five games. … The Cowboys are 3-1 in their last four trips to Philadelphia. … The 49ers have won seven of the past eight meetings with the Rams. … The Texans are 3-0 on the road. The Bears are 4-0 at home. … The Steelers have won 14 straight home games on “Monday Night Football” as they host the Chiefs, who suffered a 13-9 setback to Pittsburgh last year. Additionally, Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel was 0-8 against the Steelers as coach of the Browns from 2005 to ’08. … Teams on the bye: Arizona, Cleveland, Green Bay, Washington. And how those coming off it have historically fared: New England (13-10, .565; 9-3, .750 under Bill Belichick), New York Jets (12-11, .522), San Francisco (10-13, .435), St. Louis (11-12, .478).

Some random thoughts in no particular order:

•Judging by her sparsely worded, post-victory press conference Wednesday, it would seem Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren has been getting tips from Belichick.

•How’s this for a drinking game (your choice of beverage)? Take a swig every time the CBS crew mentions Andrew Luck’s name during today’s Patriots game as they hype next week’s contest with the Colts.

•The Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-5 with a minus-109 point differential at home. The Patriots pay a visit Dec. 23.

•A reminder: The Patriots kick off at 1 p.m. today, just like the not-so-good old days when the franchise was irrelevant. The next three home games start at the fan-friendly (ha, ha) times of 4:25, 8:30, 8:20.

•Cancer took the life of 24-year-old Corey Strazdas of Winchendon last Sunday, but it never took the spirit of this faithful Patriots follower. May he rest in peace.

Material used in this report was collected from personal interviews, wire services, Web sites, and league and team sources. Rich Garven can be reached by e-mail at rich.garven@verizon.net or rgarven@telegram.com.